Leo's most important role yet? DiCaprio pledges $7 million to ocean conservation projects

"We have systematically devastated our global fisheries"

Leonardo DiCaprio is not only a great actor, but also an environmental activist. He's been doing his part for a long time, raising awareness and donating money to various causes. But he has just reached a new high in his involved with conservation, pledging to donate $7 million over the next 2 years to ocean conservation projects. $3 million had been donated to Oceana previously, so that's an additional $7 million for a total of $10 million. In a way, this is DiCaprio going back to his first love, as before becoming an actor, he wanted to become a marine biologist. Well, his support will now help a lot of marine biologists protect our oceans. Well done!

Thru my foundation today I'm pledging $7 million to ocean conservation projects over the next 2 years. #OurOcean2014

Check out his great speech at the Our Oceans event, which includes his own observations as a diver, going back to spots that he first visited 20 years ago and witnessing first-hand the problems we face (bleached corals, illegal fishing, trawling, etc). Worth watching:

The new marine reserve that he mentions at the start of his speech is this one.

To put things into some context, the $10 million donation is large, even for a big celebrity. We regular folks might think that big stars throw dozens of millions around all the time, but this Forbes list of some of the biggest donations shows that DiCaprio's money is substantial and would be close to the top of an updated list even by these rarefied standards.

The Our Oceans event was created by the U.S. State Department, led by John Kerry. Here he is explaining what it's all about:

Healthy oceans are critical to the survival of all life on Earth. #OurOcean2014